The Straight Razor Shave
Hold the razor securely by placing the pads of your index and second fingers on the shank, your thumb under the shank and against the shoulder, the handle raised vertically between your middle and ring fingers, and your ring and pinky fingers resting inside the crescent-shaped tang.

Using the fingers of your free hand, stretch the skin until it is as taught as possible. Hold the razor at a 30 degree angle to the surface of your skin and shave your first even stroke in the direction of hair growth. Apply lather over the freshly shaven area and shave a second even stroke against the direction of hair growth. Only two strokes are necessary. You can skip the second stroke, if it seems too tricky to attempt.

The "angle of the dangle" is your key to error-free shaving. Fewer than 30 degrees and you'll rip the hair out by its root. More than 30 degrees and you'll very likely slice yourself to ribbons. The only areas for which this rule doesn't apply are the chin and upper lip. For these two trouble spots only, angle the back of the blade a little closer to your skin and proceed with caution.